Betty Buyside: My most sincere 'buy' recommendation is on myself
Promoted at last. I am now a director, which I can tell you is a far more weighty title in an insurance company than it is in an investment bank.
I was of course delighted when my boss informed me of this change of status, not least because it means that my bonus entitlement has leapt from an expected 40% of salary to 70%. I know this doesn't compare well with sellside bonuses in a good year, but hey, we're not having a good year and I doubt we will next year either!
Meanwhile my appraisal is coming up and my bonus this year will be largely based on this. I was alarmed to learn that I need to show an 'in-line' performance to get my hands on the full 70% - it sounds more like something figure-skaters should be doing. So how to ensure that everyone important is aware of my wonderful 'in-line' performance?
I started by assessing my performance myself. I knew I had put in the graft over the last year, even allowing for lapses of concentration such as getting married and going on honeymoon. But this year's bonus is important, because if I get pregnant (and I can assure you that Anthony Academic and I are trying hard) then next year's will be minimal.
Sadly, there is no better way to showcase one's own productivity that to benchmark it against that of colleagues.
First up, I drew up a list of one-on-one meetings with companies arranged and attended by me during the year. I met with each of the companies I cover at least once, surely an achievement? Also, I accounted for a whopping 38% of all meetings arranged. Given that I represent 10% of the research department, serious outperformance, no?
Secondly, 20 major company notes (and we are talking mammoth tomes here, none of this sellside rubbish, 30+ pages of serious added value) have been written in the year and I did 8 of them - 40% of the total.
Finally, I benchmarked myself against the others on all written output for the year, and I am glad to say that this came out at more than 40%.
I also listed my indirect contributions, including recruitment of other analysts, review of electronic data suppliers to the company, and help I have provided to new trainees. My overseas trips to visit companies and attend broker conferences also featured (alright, I know some of you might not regard this as work).
I have written the whole thing up as a research note on myself (Recommendation: BUY) and will hand it to my boss at our next review meeting. No-one will be left in any doubt about my 'in-line' performance!
Married life is fun. Anthony Academic drops me off at the tube in the morning and meets me in the evening. I use the excuse that the weather is terrible and I simply couldn't manage to stagger the 15 minutes home after a hideous day trying to invest my employer's money in a bear market.
My wonderful husband, with his less than lengthy working hours and unlimited supply of research assistants, churns out academic papers with apparent ease. I, slaving away in the fund management arm of a big UK insurer, have a far more stress-filled existence, following my three designated sectors and fobbing off calls from fewer and fewer brokers as they are all made redundant.
I did think, looking at all this, that perhaps my move from sellside to buyside all those years ago hasn't produced the result I wanted, namely a better lifestyle and less work. If I am not pregnant by June, we might have to review our career plans!
You can contact Betty at: bettybuyside@efinancialcareers.com
